From The Tribune staff reports
SYLACAUGA – It was a strong showing for the Huskies.
Last weekend, six six members of the Hewitt-Trussville mountain bike team competed in the Skyway Epic Mountain Bike endurance race, which is considered a renowned race that takes place in the Talladega Ranger District.
The trek starts and finishes on the Sylaward Trail at Lake Howard near Sylacauga. All six racers competed in the open class (14-49 years old) race with a total of 49 racers from all over the Southeast.
All finishers completed roughly 67 miles and gained over 6,000 thousand feet of elevation. Local riders dominated the race by taking first (Jacob Roper), third (Grayson Davis), fourth (Sam Lovin), 19th (Alex Davis), 20th (Michael Davis) and 24th (Zeke Lockett).
In addition to the student athletes, four of Hewitt’s coaches also took part. Coach Frank Davis placed sixth in the Masters 67 mile category while his wife, Mary Davis, placed first in the Female Masters category. Coach Walt Brittain took 12th in the 110 mile race, which had roughly 12,000 feet of elevation, while coach Dennis Vandegrift took 24th in the male open category. Jacob Roper was the top overall finisher in the 67 mile race with a time of 4:57:25.
Coach Frank Davis said “Everyone at the race was pretty impressed that a bunch of junior riders showed up and ‘put it on them!’ New Hewitt MTB coach, but no stranger to epic mountain bike races, Lee Neal said “What those guys did today is pretty major in my opinion. They beat some heavy hitters (in the MTB racing world). Stoked for the future!”
The Hewitt Mountain Bike Team (HTMTB) is open to all students (boys and girls) in sixth through 12th grade. Currently, HTMTB is in first place among 37 school teams after three races. The season championship will be at Tannehill Historical Park in McCalla on May 2.
For more information, visit the team’s Facebook page: @Huskyfastmtb.